Three Scientists Win the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics for 2025 was awarded to three US-based researchers—John Clarke, Michel Devoret, and John Martinis—for groundbreaking experiments that demonstrated quantum physics in action within a system large enough to be observed directly. The award highlights how fundamental quantum phenomena, once thought to be the domain of subatomic particles alone, are now integral to technologies that power modern devices, from cellphones to quantum computers.
How the Breakthroughs Were Demonstrated
The laureates’ work points to two cornerstone quantum effects: quantum tunneling and energy quantization. In classic terms, quantum tunneling allows a particle to pass through a barrier it seemingly should not cross, while energy quantization implies that a system can only absorb or emit energy in discrete packets. The trio’s experiments, conducted in the mid-1980s, demonstrated these effects in a macroscopic, or “visible,” system. This meant that quantum behaviours could be observed not just in tiny particles, but in a tangible device that engineers could study and manipulate.
Using a superconducting chip, the researchers created a circuit where electrical resistance vanishes at low temperatures. In this setup, electrical current can become trapped in stable, non-zero states. By carefully adjusting conditions, they observed a transition to a state where current began to flow again, a vivid demonstration of quantum tunneling. They also showed that the system interacted with light at only certain frequencies, corroborating the idea that its energy levels were quantised. Taken together, these results provided tangible evidence that quantum mechanics governs the behaviour of a sizable, engineered system, bridging a gap between abstract theory and practical technology.
Implications for Modern Technology
Nobel Committee chair Olle Eriksson described the prize as recognition of the idea that “no advanced technology today relies on quantum mechanics.” The practical upshot of Clarke, Devoret, and Martinis’ discoveries extends far beyond laboratory curiosity. The same quantum principles underpin the operation of modern digital devices: the accuracy and speed of influence in semiconductors, the fidelity of information in fiber optic networks, and the rapid processing demanded by today’s computing tasks. In essence, the path from quantum research to everyday tech includes the circular progress of creating stable qubits, understanding decoherence, and engineering scalable circuits—areas in which the laureates’ early experiments provided a blueprint.
The award also shines a light on the evolving landscape of quantum technology. As researchers pursue quantum computing, quantum sensing, and secure quantum communications, the foundational work demonstrated by Clarke, Devoret, and Martinis serves as a reminder that breakthroughs often come from translating counterintuitive quantum ideas into workable, repeatable experiments that can be integrated into devices used by billions.
Who Are the Laureates?
John Clarke is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Michel Devoret, born in France, holds professorships at Yale University and the University of California, Santa Barbara, where John Martinis is also a professor. Martinis previously led Google’s Quantum AI Lab until 2020, underscoring the close ties between academia and industry in the development of quantum technologies. Notably, two of the three laureates have associations with Google, reflecting the tech giant’s active role in advancing quantum research.
The prize amount, totaling 11 million Swedish kronor, will be shared among the three scientists. The award ceremony and subsequent discussions are expected to focus on how quantum insights can continue to transform communication networks, computation, and broader scientific instrumentation in the years ahead.
A Look Ahead
As quantum science transitions from theoretical elegance to enterprise-scale deployment, the work of Clarke, Devoret, and Martinis will be cited as a pivotal moment that demonstrated the feasibility of observing and exploiting quantum effects in real devices. Their legacy extends to the ongoing quest to build robust quantum computers, which promise to solve certain problems far beyond the reach of classical machines—and to revolutionize fields from cryptography to materials science.
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